


"I really do know them, I promise!"

by Anonymouskeeper



Series: "Yeah, I'm the only one that's not famous. So what?" [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Actor Liam, Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics - but only background, Alternate Universe, Artist Zayn, Cook Niall, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Multi, OT5, Other, Singer Harry, University Student Louis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-07 14:59:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14083473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonymouskeeper/pseuds/Anonymouskeeper
Summary: "Zayn winning a major art competition in Year 11 and Harry winning X-factor halfway through Year 12; Niall apprenticing to a famous chef and Liam finally getting his big break in a huge movie the year after they left sixth form and the fame that followed all of them after that. However, not even the pictures, nor the interrupted Skype calls they'd walked in on, not even when he disappears for weeks at a time during the summer to spend time with his famous friends convinced his friends that he knew any of them. By this point, nearly finished with his third year at uni, he had just about given up trying to convince them."OR....The five times Louis tries to convince his Uni friends that he really does know famous people and the one time he doesn't have to convince anyone.





	1. Chapter One - Harry

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. I wrote this ages ago and recently found it on my computer when I went to clear out all my folders. Some of the information in it might be a bit out-dated and most of it is probably made up, since I barely even remember writing it and it is an AU. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think.

 

"Louis! Louis!"  
The loud banging on his door was what woke Louis up and he couldn't help but groan when he recognised the voice as one of his best friends, Eleanor.  
"Louis!!!" She screamed.  
He stayed in bed, contemplating getting up and letting her in and probably saving his door from her wrath, or staying under his warm covers and letting her shout until she gave up.  
"For the love of god, Louis. open this door! I've got news! Good news!" She shouted. He rued the day he became good enough friends with her that she now knew he would be awake. And too curious to resist now that he knew she wasn't there to shout at him for something.  
"Ugh. I hate you, woman! Why are you waking me up so early!?" He shouted back as he rolled out of bed.  
"Its 11 o'clock, Lou! Honestly, its not that early." She started shouting, but reduced to normal volume when he opened the door, not even inviting her in before he moved away to his little kitchen, intent on putting the kettle on.  
"What's this good news then?" He asked, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed as he waited for the kettle to boil.  
"You know I entered that competition last month, for tickets for the Harry Styles concert?" She asked, a smile beginning to show on her face.  
"Yeeeessss..." He drew out. "Even though I told you I could get you tickets if that's what you wanted." He reminded her.  
"I don't want you spending all that money on me, Lou, I won't let you." She told him resolutely. "And I don't care that you've apparently met Harry Styles before, I do not believe he'd give you free tickets."  
He sighed, wanting to put his head in his hands before he was interrupted by the kettle and he turned to put his tea together. It was really, very annoying. None of his university friends believed, at all, that he knew Harry, or any of his other childhood mates that had gone on to become famous the world over. They'd been best friends - all five of them together - since Year 7, even through Louis presenting as an Omega and all four of the others presenting as Alphas, pretty much one after the other in Year 9; from Zayn winning a major art competition in Year 11 and Harry winning X-factor halfway through Year 12; Niall apprenticing to a famous chef and Liam finally getting his big break in a huge movie the year after they left sixth form and the fame that followed all of them after that. However, not even the pictures, nor the interrupted Skype calls they'd walked in on, not even when he disappears for weeks at a time during the summer to spend time with his famous friends convinced his friends that he knew any of them. By this point, nearly finished with his third year at uni, he had just about given up trying to convince them.  
"Anyway, I won two tickets to the concert and a private meet-and-greet with him afterwards!" She started squealing and he couldn't help but grin at her. She was a huge fan of Harry and had been waiting anxiously to hear back about the tickets since she'd entered the competition. "And I want you to come with me." She told him with big grin.  
His smile drooped slightly.  
"Why? Don't you have other friends who want to go?" He asked, a bit desperately.  
"Yeah, probably, but you're my best mate, Lou. And I know you're a fan." She said, teasingly. "The pictures, the singing, the dancing in your bedroom when you think nobody's watching..." She trailed off, laughing at his blush. He couldn't deny it; he did love Harry's music. He could remember sitting in one of their bedrooms, or at the park or that one time just before Harry had left for X-factor on the beach, helping him write down lyrics whilst Niall and Liam tried to make them go with the music Harry had thought up and Zayn teased them all.  
"So will you come with me?" She asked pleadingly, even holding her hand together under her chin and making her eyes wide.  
"Hmm, I don't know." He pretended to hum and haw as he took a sip of his tea. He did love to see Harry perform and he hadn't seen the slightly younger boy in nearly four months, too busy with touring and exams, respectfully. But it would be weird to watch Harry on stage from designated seating - he had always watched from backstage. He looked up from his tea, where he'd been staring contemplatively for longer than was probably necessary, to see Eleanor's still-pleading face. "Oh, alright then. When is it?"  
He cringed when she started squealing again, setting his tea down on the side just in time to catch her when she lunged at him in a hug.  
"We're going to see Harry Styles. We're going to see HARRY STYLES!!!"

It turned out that the concert was a week on Friday and so Louis had five phone calls with Harry that he had to keep quiet about his plans - having decided that surprising the other boy would be much more fun - and pretend that he was way too busy to meet up with Harry until the weekend after the concert. It was fun, but Louis couldn't deny that he missed seeing his best friend, since by this point they'd have met up at least once whilst Harry was in the country.  
"You ready, El?" He asked, peering around her kitchen doorway to see her stood in front of her bathroom mirror, fussing with her hair. She was dressed to go out, in light wash denim shorts and a lacy crop-top, with a pair of heeled ankle boots. He, on the other hand, was dressed like he was just going out to the pub - comfy black jeggings and a large grey jumper he was pretty sure he'd stolen off Liam, with his favourite pair of scruffy black vans.  
"Yeah." She said, still looking at him judgmentally but, having already tried to get him to change, knew it was fruitless.  
And so they left the flat, quickly hailing down a taxi to get them near the venue. When they'd arrived at the stadium, it was to a long line of screaming teenage girls. Louis automatically cringed away from the deafening noise, unused to it; he'd always arrived with Harry, hours before the concert actually started and before more than a handful of girls had turned up. He'd always had fairly sensitive ears and Harry kept him away from the loudest rooms and concerts.  
"Come on, Lou. We've got seats, we can go line up over there." She nodded towards a slightly shorter but much quicker moving line. He nodded, grabbing her hand so they wouldn't get lost and towed them over there, although he quickly discovered it wasn't actually that easy to get away from the screaming. The noise continued for the half an hour it took to reach the front of the line, although it dimmed slightly as they navigated corridors and climbed stairs to reach their seats. They were both out of breath when they found them, quickly getting comfortable.  
Louis looked out at the stadium before them - the stage was obviously the main attraction, huge and dominating. There was a massive space, that was slowly being filled, for the standing concert-goers and then staggered seating. They were in a pretty good spot actually, facing the stage near head on and high enough to see everything but not so far away that Harry would look like a speck of dust.  
"Oh, Lou, this is so exciting." He jumped when Eleanor spoke, having gotten lost in his thoughts. "Thank you for coming with me. I'm glad its you here."  
Louis could feel himself blush.  
"Its alright, El. I'm happy to be here." He reached over and squeezed her hand.

The concert had been amazing and Louis could not stop grinning. It was so different watching Harry from the front, one person in a crowd of fans. And although he was pretty sure his ears would never stop ringing, he couldn't wait to surprise Harry at the meet-and-greet and congratulate him. Although, Louis thought as he followed Eleanor down another corridor, the best part would be El's surprise that he did actually know Harry Styles.  
"Do you actually know where you're going, El?"  
"Of course I do." She threw him a glare over her shoulder and he chuckled as he pulled his phone out to check the time.  
"We've only got 7 minutes until we're supposed to meet Harry" He tells her.  
"Oh, shut up." She snarks.  
"I would if I believed you knew where you were going."  
"Seriously, Lou, I know where I'm going." She repeats.  
"We can just ask someone, you know." He can smell alpha up ahead, someone familiar.  
"There isn't anyone to ask."  
"Yeah there is." He nods to the man they can see now they've rounded a corner.  
"Shut up." She tells him.  
The familiar alpha is huge, towering over the both of them and so clearly security that Eleanor felt a bit nervous.  
"Um, excuse me." She pushes aside the nervousness and approaches the man anyway, because she really wanted to meet Harry. She doesn't see the confused look the alpha sends Louis, or the quick head shake he gives in return. "We've got tickets for a private meet-and-greet with Harry Styles but we're not entirely sure where we're going." She wasn't shy, even as an omega talking to an alpha.  
"If I could see your tickets?" The alpha asked politely.  
Eleanor immediately dug into her handbag, quickly pulling out the two tickets and the letter of details sent to her by the competition holder she'd won the tickets from. The alpha guard flicked through them expertly, peering at the lettering on the back of the tickets before he nodded, satisfied. Louis knew he wouldn't have denied them, anyway, since Harry had informed his entire security guard that Louis was allowed in whenever, but it was better this way.  
"I'll take you to the right room; it's not too far from here."  
And so Louis and Eleanor followed behind the alpha, talking quietly and trying not to giggle as their excitement grew. They were going to see Harry. The excitement died down a bit when they reached the room, the door open and the room devoid of famous alpha, although they weren't discouraged.  
"You're a few minutes early, so Harry'll be on his way in soon." The alpha pointed out. "Don't leave this room unless in an emergency, you can take anything you want from the snack table and there's a bathroom through that doorway." He nodded to the left. "Have a good time." He smiled at them before taking his leave, pulling the door so it was mostly closed.  
"I can't believe we're about to meet Harry Styles." Eleanor whispered, as if to herself. Louis grinned, although it was more because he'd missed Harry greatly.  
"I'm just gonna pop to the loo." He said, tilting his head at the door. She almost looked like she'd object, but shook herself out of it. He smiled as he disappeared and spent a couple minutes lent over the sink, fluffing his fringe the way he knew Harry liked it. He was just nodding to himself in the mirror, satisfied, when he heard a familiar, beloved voice.  
"Hello, love. What's your name?"  
"Oh god, I'm Eleanor. It's so nice to meet you."  
Louis couldn't help but chuckle at El's reply even as he tried to sneakily step out of the bathroom. She always went formal when she wasn't entirely sure what to do, even though the tears in her voice were obvious and she most likely had tears streaming down her face.  
"My friend just went in the bathroom, he-" She turned in time to see him come out of the bathroom and grinned, her eyes darting back to Harry. "This is Louis." She gestured at the other omega.  
"Hey, Haz." Louis grinned at the shocked look on the alpha's face.  
"Lou?" He asked. "But...What?" He stood, shocked. Louis thought he was overreacting a bit, although he supposed it had been even longer than usual since they'd last seen each other.  
"Honestly, haven't seen you in two months and this is the greeting I get?" Louis shook his head sadly. "Even Zayn greeted me better last time I saw him and I spilled paint all over his shoes when I was trying to sneak up on him."  
"Lou!"  
Apparently ignoring what the omega had just said, Harry rushed over to where the smaller boy was standing and lifted him into his arms in one quick movement, burying his nose in Louis' hair and pushing the omega's head into his neck, encouraging him to scent him.  
"I missed you so much, Lou. Why did you have to go to uni?" Harry whined.  
"What, and just follow you about on tour for the rest of my life?" Louis laughed pulling his face out of Harry's neck and temporarily forgetting that Eleanor was still in the room.  
"Nothing wrong with following me about." Harry pouted.  
"Pretty sure me mum would miss me, Hazza." Louis pointed out. "And you know I love you, but I can only watch so many concerts before I start going insane."  
"Were you at the concert today?"  
"No, Harry, I just came for the meet-and-greet." Louis said, heavy on the sarcasm. "Of course I went to the concert, you dolt. And you were fantastic!" Louis tightened his arms around Harry's shoulders, grinning brightly in the alpha's face. "Why did you never let me see your concert from the actual stadium?" He pouted, making his lips as exaggerated as they could get.  
"Oh, Lou." Harry cooed. "I don't want you getting hurt or tired and you know your ears are sensitive. They start to hurt even when you watch from backstage." He lent forward to give Louis' right ear a kiss and Louis squirmed at the sensitivity. Unfortunately, Harry was right. His ears were sensitive and they hurt now, after hours of loud music and louder, screaming girls. He could even feel a headache start at the base of his skull. "Come on, lets go get you some paracetamol." Still carrying Louis, Harry turned to go out the door, only to be met with the shocked face of Eleanor.  
"Oh, El!" Louis exclaimed, unwrapping his legs from Harry's waist and his arms from Harry's neck. "Hazza, let me down." He demanded and Harry only let him down, reluctantly, after nuzzling into Louis' neck and licking a strip up to behind his ear. "Are you alright, El?" He asked.  
"You weren't lying." She whispered. "You actually, really, was not lying." She got louder as she said each word until she was almost shouting.  
"I told you I wasn't." He told her, still a bit put out. "I really do know Harry Styles. I went to school with him."  
She turned abruptly, going to sit on one of the sofas set up against the far wall. Louis side eyed Harry, who still had an arm tight across his waist, hand spread possessively over his belly.  
"Go on, Popstar. Do your meeting and greeting thing." Louis waved a hand in the air.  
"Lou..." He whined quietly.  
"Honestly, Haz. I'm following you for the next two weeks." Louis told him.  
"Really?" Harry perked up a bit.  
"Yeah. I've handed in my dissertation, next week is revision week and I only have one exam and its not until next month. So, as long as I have a bit of time to revise, I'm all yours for two weeks." Louis grinned happily.  
"Why only two weeks?" Harry asked petulantly.  
"Because after that is Zayn's gallery opening - which you said you'd go to as well - and I'm spending a few days with him before meeting up with Liam to go on Niall's baking show." Louis listed his itinerary. "Now, come on."  
They walked over to Eleanor, who was still watching them, although she now had a little smile on her face.  
"Still can't believe you know Harry Styles." She said once he'd settled on one side of her.  
"Still can't believe you didn't believe me when I said I knew Harry Styles."


	2. Chapter 2 - Niall

 

"Come on, Omega. You know you want to go out with me."

Louis laughed at the cocky statement from the over-confident alpha, continuing his slow walk to work. He wasn't too far away and had enough time before he started his shift that he could take his time and indulge the other man. He'd known the alpha - William Davidson - since the man had moved into the flat a floor down from his own a few months ago and the alpha had never missed a chance to ask him out. So far, Louis had rejected him every time, although they were slowly becoming fairly good friends, even with the slight tension between them.

"Come on." Will urged again. "I've got reservations at Lumiere - you know, that famous guy's restaurant they just opened in town." Louis perked up a bit at that, and Will could tell. "Do you know how long the waiting list for that place is? I was lucky, someone had cancelled literally just before I phoned. So, will you go with me?"

Louis, scrunched his nose in thought. Lumiere was Niall's chain of restaurants; the first had only opened a two years ago and already they were spreading world wide. He had only had the chance to go there once, so far, when the very first restaurant had opened. But did he really want to go with Will? Sure, he liked the guy, but only as a friend. Would accepting the date just be using him to go to the restaurant? But maybe one date with Will would stop him from continuing to ask.

"Alright" He said at last. Will let out a loud cheer, that Louis laughed at but interrupted before the alpha could get too excited. "But if this doesn't work out, like, as a date, you have to stop asking me out, alright?" He turned to face the alpha in emphasise.

Will, sensing he was serious, nodded.

"Yeah, I get it. It makes sense, Lou." He smiled, though. "Thanks for the opportunity." And he leaned in and kissed Louis fleetingly on the cheek before laughing and striding ahead. He turned suddenly, though, so he was again facing Louis even as he continued to walk. "Be ready for seven tonight, alright? The reservation is at half past."

Louis sighed, putting his head in his hands. What had he agreed to?

Hours later, with the sun just starting to set through his bedroom window, Louis was greatly regretting agreeing to the date, although he couldn't find it in him to call Will and cancel. His shift at the cafe he worked at had been ridiculously busy and he'd hardly had a chance to sit down. He supposed that, at least, going out for dinner didn't exactly require much walking.

He heard a knock on the door then and, after a quick glance at the clock, he went to let Will in. He'd done his best to dress up a bit, figuring it was a date and they were going to a fancy restaurant and was dressed it tight black slacks and a navy button down shirt with a black leather jacket, although there was no way he was wearing anything besides his favourite pair of vans.

"Hey, Will." Louis greeted, opening the door to the alpha. The alpha was dressed nicely as well, in black trousers and a grey shirt, with a black blazer and matching dress shoes. "Do you want to go straight away?" He stopped when he was suddenly presented with a bouquet of flowers and he couldn't help but blush.

"Here. I thought, you know, since this is our first date..." Will was blushing too, although not as much as Louis and Louis hated that he felt a bit charmed.

"Thanks, Will. I'll just go find a vase."

Louis took the flowers with a smile, going into his kitchen to try and find one of the vases Zayn had gotten him over the years; he didn't have any other flowers at the moment but the boys, especially Zayn for some reason, liked to send him flowers whenever they felt like it and a lot of them came with vases. Louis couldn't help but be thankful for that now, nice there was no way he'd have a vase otherwise.

"You've got a nice place, Lou." He jumped from where he was arranging the flowers when Will came up behind him, hugging him from behind. It was weird, having someone unfamiliar do that. "How long have you been living here?"

"Oh, um, a few years. Since I started University." He replied nervously.

"Really? But isn't it expensive?" Will asked, slightly shocked. Louis sighed - he knew it was weird.

"I have these friends and they're all pretty rich and they were back then too. I took a gap year after sixth form, not sure what I wanted to do, you know?" He started, even as he grabbed his keys and wallet and herded Will out of the door and to the stairs. Will nodded at the question and led the way to his car, parked just outside the building. "And when I decided to come here, to a big city, away from where they knew I was safe or going with them on tours or wherever it was they went, they went all protective alpha on me and said the only way they were going to let me move here on my own would be if I let them buy me the flat." He chuckled. They'd all had a huge fight that night, the first night all five of them had been together in over a month. But they'd already convinced his mum and if anyone could get him to agree to the over-protectiveness, it was his mum, who he refused to make worry even more than she would. And now, years later, he could easily admit that it was so much easier having a proper home throughout Uni instead of moving from halls to a student house etc. each year.

"Wow." Will blew a whistle through his teeth, navigating through traffic carefully. "Some friends. Rich, huh?"

"Yeah, I've mentioned them before." Louis sighed; Will had never believed him when he said he knew Harry, Liam, Zayn and Niall either and he doubted this would be any different.

"Oh, the celebrities?" Will laughed. "I get kids with rich parents, Lou, but you can't expect me to believe that." Will continued to chuckle. Louis couldn't help his grumpy pout, even though Niall had always told him it only made him look even more adorable.

"No, how could I possibly expect you to believe that?" He grumbled to himself quietly, although the alpha obviously heard it, since he started laughing again.

Louis was glad that the drive wasn't actually that long and they got to Lumiere five minutes early. Will was relaxed as he walked in, even if Louis was slightly anxious. He almost hoped Niall was here, although at the same time he didn't; the alpha had never liked him going out on dates with other people and Niall would undoubtedly tell the other three if he saw them and he can only imagine the phone calls.

"Do you think Niall Horan will be here?" Will asked as they waited in line for the Maitre d'. Louis pursed his lips, unsure.

"I know he's in Britain and he's going round all his restaurants to make sure they reach his standard but I don't know where he is at the moment." He bit his lip. "He was in London earlier this week..." Louis tried to remember what Niall had told him he was doing this week when they'd Skype'd the other day, but Niall had called late and Louis had fallen asleep listening to the alpha talk.

"Wow, Lou, you sure are a fan, aren't you?" Will teased. Louis stuck his tongue out reflexively at the teasing before blushing again once he'd realised what he'd done. He didn't have a chance to reply, though, as at that moment they'd reached the smartly dressed woman - beta, Louis realised after a quick sniff.

"Hello, reservation for Davidson." Will said politely, pushing his hand into the small of Louis back as the women looked through a computer.

"Of course, if you'll follow me." The woman said after a minute, picking up a small pile of menus as she checked her computer one more time.

"Do you know if Niall Horan is here tonight?" Will asked the woman, curious. She shot them a smile as she gestured at the two-person table, near the front of the restaurant but around the small water feature that took up the middle of the room.

"He is, actually. You might see him around the restaurant as you eat; he likes to come out and ask patrons what they think." She giggled a bit, obviously charmed by the restaurants owner. "But please be aware that we have attentive security." It was obviously a warning and Louis remembered Niall mentioning an incident at a restaurant last week. He nodded in understanding and slid into his seat. "Your waiter will be with you soon. Enjoy your meal." She handed out the menus and then turned to go back to her post.

"Hmm." Will said, flicking through the menu. Louis looked up at him. "This all looks really nice. Do you know what you want, Lou?"

"Well," Louis didn't even really need to look through the menu, still remembering the anxiety Niall felt as he chose a menu, Louis sat on his lap as he helped point out dishes that looked and tasted the best. It had been a rushed two weeks of decision making and Louis had been there all the way, including helping with the design. He giggled, remembering that time. "I think I might go for the beef..."

When their waiter arrived, Will ordered a nice bottle of wine and a jug of water, before pointing out his meal. Louis quickly relayed his own, starting to feel hungry now. As Will engaged him in small talk, asking about Uni and talking about his own job, Louis couldn't help but throw looks around the restaurant, hoping to see Niall come out.

He didn't get even a glimpse of familiar dark blond hair, though, until they'd finished dessert and were waiting for their bill. By that point, Louis knew that he really did not want to go on another date with Will and was glad that he'd affirmed that for himself. He also knew that he was going to make Niall make him the chocolate sponge pudding he'd ordered every time he saw him; it had been one of the best things he'd ever tasted.

"You know, I think -" Whatever Will had been about to say was cut off when someone stopped by their table - someone not their waiter. Louis' face lit up when he recognised who it was, although he didn't get a chance to even say hello before he was scooped out of his chair into a giant hug, his feet off the floor and face buried in the alpha's neck. "Excuse me! That's my omega!" Will stood up indignantly and Louis could feel his entire face burning, the stares of everyone in the restaurant digging into his back at the loud noise.

"Excuse me?" The Irish lilt to the voice rumbling in his ear was familiar and comforting and threatening all at once. Louis whimpered quietly. "Shh, Lou. Its alright." Niall pressed a kiss to the top of his head in comfort. Will growled, catching the action.

"What are you doing?" Will asked threateningly.

"I'm greeting my omega." Niall answered threateningly.

"And who do you think you are to do that?" Will growled back.

"The owner of this restaurant and his best friend."

Will paled at the answer, taking a step back. Just then, he noticed two burly beta's coming towards him, obviously security guards and he knew he wouldn't win this fight. No matter, he could talk to Louis later; after all, he was the omega's ride home.

"Excuse me, sir, I'll escort you to the counter to pay your bill and then we'll have to ask you to leave." The slightly shorter security guard said politely and Will nodded and looked to Louis.

"Come on, Louis." He jerked his head in the direction of the door. "I'll drop you home."

Louis turned to look at Will at the words, even though Niall's hand tried to keep his face hidden in the alpha's neck.

"Oh, um..." Louis wasn't quite sure what to say - he wanted to stay with Niall, but he didn't want to really hurt Will, either. It turned out, he didn't have to make that decision.

"He'll be staying with me." Niall growled out, turning on his heel to walk to a back room, this time succeeding in pushing Louis' head back down to his neck. Louis took a deep sniff and relaxed to the smell of freshly baked bread and fresh mint. He was so busy sniffing the alpha that he didn't realise they'd reached an empty room until Niall sat down on a sofa, tugging Louis back to look him in the eyes. "Hi, Bunny."

Louis instantly pouted at the nickname.

"Why do you still call me that?" He whined. "Honestly, I'm 22. 'm not a bunny."

Niall laughed, bright and loud.

"You'll always be my bunny, Bunny." He declared, pulling Louis against him once more, so that this time Niall's face was buried in the omega's neck.

"I missed you, alpha." Louis whispered, suddenly feeling very tired.

"I missed you too, omega." Niall's hand came up to cradle the back of Louis' head and as Louis closed his eyes, he remembered something that made him smile.

Will couldn't say that he had been lying when he said he knew Niall Horan.


	3. Chapter 3 - Liam

Louis sighed, questioning everything about himself and his life decisions. A tad dramatic, perhaps, but that's what happens when he agrees to accompany a friend to an optional seminar when the only thing he had left to do with University was graduation.

"Oh, come on, Lou. Its not that bad. Its only an hour." Stan grinned down at the omega. He had signed up for this seminar ages ago with a friend, but his friend had bailed on him last night and it had taken him all evening to convince the omega to go with him. Louis had finally given into bribery at about 11 last night and he was now very much regretting it. "And there's meant to be a famous guest star." He paused for dramatic effect. "I heard that its Liam Payne." Stan watched as Louis seemed to shake himself awake at the name and grinned. He knew that his friend had a massive crush on Liam Payne and, apparently knew the actor rather well, although Stan was pretty sure that was just a delusion.

"Really?" Louis was kind of sceptical. Surely Liam would have told him if he was going to Louis' university? Although he did know that Louis was pretty much finished with Uni and it was actually highly possible that Liam had mentioned it and Louis had either not been listening or had since completely forgotten about it.

"Well, that's what I've heard" Stan nodded.

"What's this seminar even on, anyway?" Louis asked as they finally reached the correct building.

"Production in film-making, I think is what its called. One of my lecturers recommended it." Stan said absentmindedly as they waited for the lift. "I don't really want to go into film-making, but it is good to keep my options open."

Louis nodded, completely agreeing. Stan was taking a four-year photography course, with a year in industry, hoping to go into photo journalism. Louis would - hopefully - soon have a degree in English Literature and wanted to go into publishing, although the eventual dream was to become an author. Louis honestly didn't know why he'd agreed to go to a seminar on production, of all things - actually, wait a minute, it was because Stan had promised to buy him lunch anywhere he wanted. Louis resisted the urge to cackle.

"Come on Lou, lets go find seats." The door to the seminar room was open, with a fair number of people already sat on the set-up chairs. Louis supposed film-making was a popular career choice but he also guessed that rumours of the Liam Payne coming to talk about it heavily influenced their decisions.

As the lecturer called the group to order and a few more people scurried through the door, Louis sunk down in his chair and awaited the most boring hour of his life.

As Stan shakes him awake nearly 40 minutes later, Louis is infinitely glad of two things:

1) That they sat near the back of the room, behind some rather tall people and;

2) That he doesn't snore.

When he see's why Stan woke him up, even though the seminar clearly isn't over, he sinks even further down in his seat. Liam is stood at the front of the room, hair finally long enough to style, with his arms crossed and radiating 'Alpha!'. Louis is sure everybody is wondering why the actor looks like that, when he sounds pleasant enough talking about the production process and his own foray into producing. Louis is pretty sure he know why; Liam would be looking directly at him, if the guy in front of him didn't have so much hair. He should have known that Niall would have told Liam about his date with Will by now and if that wasn't bad enough, he's sat next to a fairly handsome alpha Liam has never met; in fact, until about 2 minutes ago, Louis had been asleep on the 'strange' alpha's shoulder. Wincing at his own thoughts, he sinks even further into his seat, ignoring Stan's questioning looks.

Liam had always been the protective one; Niall was more alpha than anyone had ever expected and Zayn was laid back if a bit protective and Harry was basically Louis' soulmate and acted like it but Liam - Liam was 'Alpha'. Growing up, he'd been more of a mother hen, but after he'd presented he'd grown into it like a second-skin, making sure that everyone was safe and happy, especially Louis, the sole omega of the group. He'd been the one to propose buying Louis his flat when he started Uni. He was the one who literally kidnapped Louis when he'd found out Louis had gone on three dates with one alpha during his first year of Uni. And judging by Liam's stony stare, he knew all about Louis date with Will, including how it turned out. And he was even unhappier about the fact that Louis was with an unknown alpha.

"Hey, you alright, mate?" Stan leaned over to whisper in Louis ear. Louis winced again but turned to Stan with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, I'm alright." He reassured. "But why did you wake me up?" He whined. Stan grinned.

"Well, your celebrity crush is talking. I figured you wanted to hear him talk." Stan winked when Louis pouted. Liam totally would have heard that and knowing the alpha, probably taken it the wrong way. Louis groaned as quietly as he could and didn't have to look to know that Stan had heard him and was smirking.

"Shut up" He hissed at his friend. Stan's smirk only grew.

Louis spent the last 25 minutes of the seminar slumped in his seat, trying to relax to the familiar timbre of Liam's voice. But he just couldn't relax completely. He had missed the stupid alpha, over protectiveness and all but today, sat looking at his friend and not touching him, just feeling his stare, Louis was seriously regretting coming to this seminar at all - he could have just met up with Liam afterwards; well, if he'd known Liam was here, anyway.

"Right!" The lecturer leading the seminar suddenly steps towards the front of the room, clapping his hands together loudly. Louis jolts, not realising his attention had wandered so far. "Liam has kindly agreed to answer questions after the seminar if anyone wants to talk to him about what he's presented today. I hope you all enjoyed the talk and thank you for coming."

Louis shoots straight to his feet, along with pretty much the entire class, only instead of going straight to Liam, Louis heads directly for the door.

"Hey, Lou, don't you want to speak with Liam?" Stan says from behind him before he can get more than halfway down the corridor. Louis freezes and cringes at the question.

"Ah, you know, busy day today Stan." He replies as flippantly as he can, slowly turning around.

"Oh, really?" The voice is not Stan's; is low and dangerous and very, very familiar.

Louis pastes a smile on his face before he spins around.

"Liam!" He cries jovially.

Liam looks very much unimpressed.

"Busy day today, is it?" His arms are crossed and one of his eyebrows are raised.

"Yeah, you know..." Louis trails off because he has literally zero things to do today; the plan was to go to this stupid seminar, make Stan take him to his favourite cafe for lunch and then go binge watch Doctor Who. Stan looks between them, confused.

"I thought the only thing you were doing today was going for lunch with me..?" Stan trails off, unsure, most likely because of Louis wide eyes and Liam's sudden growling. There's a small group of people down the hall staring at them like they're a pair of particularly interesting zoo animals; 'Territorial alpha and stupid omega' Louis supposes they could name the attraction and lets out an inopportune giggle.

It's particularly inopportune because that's exactly when Liam decides to assert his dominance. He lunges past Stan, who lets out an unmanly shriek, and pushes Louis up against the wall, leaning down to bury his face in the omega's neck. Louis sighs in resignation and tips his head back against the wall just in time for Liam to bite down at the base of his throat and he lets out a squeak. He blushes, finding that making such noises in public is embarrassing. Liam growls again at the noise though, and Louis feels it reverberate down his spine, making him collapse, boneless, against the wall.

"Um, dude, what are you doing?" Stan takes that moment to ask and Louis stiffens again, because Liam has just remembered that there's another alpha nearby, an alpha who is 'competition'.

"It's fine, Stan." Louis says before Liam can do anything. "I told you I knew Liam Payne."


	4. Chapter 4 - Zayn

"I'm sorry, I'm busy tonight." Louis says apologetically into his phone. "Yeah, definitely. We'll get together next week sometime - how's Thursday?" Louis nods, even though the person on the other end of the phone can't see him. "Yeah, Ali, all of us. Text me when you know if everyone's free?" He groans suddenly, causing the taxi driver to give him a weird look in the mirror. "I know you're all going out somewhere cool tonight - why won't you tell me what it is?" There's a pause. "Oh, I don't deserve to know since I can't go." Louis sighed. "Fine. I'll see you next week. Have a good time tonight." He hangs up before Ali can go on anymore and closes his eyes. He's so tired - he'd been ill all week, the sort of ill where he can't sleep and the only reason he is even leaving his flat today is because Zayn had asked him to come to the alpha's gallery opening in the city and Louis hadn't told anyone he was ill so they didn't worry and Zayn would have known he was lying if he'd said he was doing something. He curses Ali for not inviting him out yesterday.

"Hey, mate. We're here." Louis looks up at the taxi drivers words, not having even realised they'd stopped. "That'll be £12.70." Louis nods and wiggles awkwardly to get his wallet out of his back pocket, handing over the correct change and getting out of the car with a thankful nod. As the taxi drives off from behind him, Louis looks up at the, honestly, intimidating building. It's actually fairly small, although the roof is domed and makes the entire building look bigger than it is. The side he's facing is entirely glass, the only discernible difference being the huge double doors in the middle. Through the glass, there are giant boards, advertising the opening of the gallery and some of the works being displayed. Despite how ill he feel, Louis can't help but start to feel excited.

"Louis!"

He turned at the shout of his name, a massive grin on his face.

"Zayn!" He scurried towards the dark-haired alpha, who was striding towards him from a door hidden around the side of the building. "I missed you." Louis admitted quietly when he was safe in the alpha's embrace, nose tucked against the artists neck.

"Oh, Boo." Zayn sighed, picking the omega up easily and walking confidently into the building. Louis tightened his arms around the alpha's neck and silently bemoaned the fact that he had become so used to being carried that he no longer put up a fight. "I missed you too. Its been much too long." Louis giggled slightly at that; he had flown to Italy three weeks ago to meet Zayn for a fashion show Zayn had been involved in as the Scenic Director (or something, Louis had kind of tuned it out). In comparison to some of the time they'd spent apart, three weeks was nothing. "You know I hate leaving you here on your own." Zayn said, almost scolding.

Louis sighed again, pulling away from the alpha and leaning back so they could look at each other properly. Although Liam had been the one insisting on the flat and Harry the one who'd wanted him to just follow the alpha on tour, Zayn was the one most opposed to him just living here on his own.

"I'm alright, Zee. And I've finished now anyway." Louis soothed, deciding not to mention that he had a number of job interviews lined up in a few different publishing firms that would keep him in this city he'd grown to love. "I won't be here for much longer, anyway. I'm going back home for a week next month, the same time Harry's there, and then I'm following him for the rest of his European leg."

Zayn let out a relieved breath.

"That's brill, babes. I'm in a lot of the same cities as Haz, so we can meet up."

Louis smiled, pleased he had gotten the alpha to calm down.

"And Liam's in Rome at the same time we are and Niall said he can come down too so we'll all be there."

Zayn grinned too. He couldn't wait; it'd been much too long since they'd last all been together.

Nearly four hours later, Louis couldn't help but wish he could time travel and just be in Rome right now. Too be honest, anything would be better than this. He loved Zayn, he really did, but the room was loud and crowded and the music playing overhead only made his heart beat anxiously and he was pretty sure his fever was rising, since he was sweating profusely. He was holding a tray of champagne glasses, having offered to help out a bit when more people than expected - or, in fact, planned for - had turned up at the gallery. Although Zayn had been reluctant to let him, he couldn't really protest that they needed help.

"Hah!" Louis jumped at the loud noise and nearly fell face-first to the floor when a heavy hand slapped him on the back. "So this is how you know Zayn Malik, eh, omega? You work for him?" Louis whirled around as they let out a cruel laugh, followed by what sounded like a number of different people. He paled slightly when he recognised the small group of people before him. The alpha that had spoken - Ellis Smith - had been in a few of his seminar's in first year and they'd gotten along, for the most part, although the alpha had always had the tendency to be a bit cruel in his teasing. When Ellis had failed first year though and had to retake it, he'd gotten even more cruel and Louis couldn't help but liken him to a bully; although, unlike the bully he'd had in sixth form, he hadn't told his alpha best friends about it (definitely for the best, since he'd never seen that classmate again).

"Oi, omega. I'm talking." Ellis snapped.

"Oi, alpha, I'm not listening." Louis snapped back. He sent his dirtiest look at Ellis and his friends and turned back around to offer champagne to the guests.

"Omega" Louis' shoulder was grabbed harshly and he was turned around again. Louis was pretty sure he was going to puke on Ellis. "I'm a guest, you shouldn't be rude." The alpha had an ugly smirk on his face. "I'll take one of those too." He held out a hand, as if Louis was going to hand him a glass. Louis looked at him incredulously.

"Well then, take one." He held the tray out. Ellis was still smirking, but he did take a glass. Louis smiled his coldest smile. "Enjoy the displays."

Of course, Ellis wasn't going to just leave it at that.

"Where do you think you're going, omega?"

Louis was once again grabbed, this time by the upper arm and spun around. This time, however, he lost his balance and the half-full tray of champagne glasses he held wobbled precariously. Whilst most of them just knocked into each other and spilt alcohol all over Louis and Ellis, a couple of glasses did fall off the tray and break. At the loud crash, a number of guests looked over at them.

"Look what you did, omega." Ellis, his grip on Louis' arm still tight, smirked. "Better clean it up." And he yanked down on Louis' arm, hard enough that it hurt but, perhaps as his goal, so Louis was bent in half and facing the ground. Quickly, Louis placed his tray on the ground - he didn't want to cause more of a mess. Ellis was already cackling, the rest of the guests buzzing loudly around them.

"What is going on here?" A low voice growled.

Louis relaxed when he recognised it and instantly regretted it, as he was left pretty much dangling from Ellis' grip. Ellis, however, stopped cackling at the words, although his friends didn't, and he never lost the smirk on his face.

"Just teaching the pretty omega how to treat guests."

Louis shuddered at the alpha's tone and didn't even feel sorry that the man's life was probably ruined.

"If I were you, I'd let him go." Zayn's voice was dark and threatening. Ellis was rapidly loosing his smirk. "Right. Now."

Ellis let go of Louis as if he were on fire and Louis was just able to catch his balance before he fell into the glass on the floor. However, Louis didn't get to right himself before he was scooped up, one arm around his waist so his back was flush with Zayn's chest and his feet dangled nearly a foot off the floor. Although he found the position highly undignified, he was glad it gave him the opportunity to watch Ellis go pale before an angry red flush appeared high on his cheeks. Ellis was just opening his mouth, presumably to spit out either an apology or even more cruel words, when three huge beta's and a short but burly alpha came over.

"For the disruption - "

Louis didn't hear the rest of what the short alpha was saying, as Zayn spun around and strode quickly to the back room Louis had spent most of the afternoon in. As they made their way through the spectating crowd, Louis wiggled around in Zayn's grip until the alpha held him chest-to-chest, Louis nose once again lodged in the alpha's throat, breathing in his comforting scent. Zayn smelt of anger, though, even though his grip on Louis was gentle.

"Zee..." Louis ventured when they were in the back room.

"Not now, Louis." Zayn was still faintly growling. "Just..." Zayn didn't finish his sentence, just letting out a loud breath as they sat on one of the sofa's occupying the room. "Don't.'"

Louis bit his lip against anything that wanted to come out and instead just guided the alpha's nose into his neck; he was pretty sire the alpha needed to scent him more than he needed to scent the alpha at this point. But if he knew one thing for sure, it was that he could have happily gone the rest of his life without Ellis believing him when he said he knew Zayn Malik.


	5. Chapter 5 - Double Trouble

Louis highly regretted agreeing to go out tonight, but Ali had quoted him promising to do so. He'd had a job interview today that he had a very good feeling about, so he definitely deserved to have some fun, but he still wasn't feeling 100% from whatever illness he'd caught. And he'd gone to so many different clubs in his first year that, in all honestly, at this point he was kind of sick of them.

But here he was, in a club he had spent way too many nights out in, three drinks in and already considering switching to lemonade. God, he'd turned into such a lightweight.

"You're such a lightweight, Lou!" Ali shouted from beside him, three sheets to the wind and grinding provocatively against her only slightly more sober boyfriend.

"Oh shut up, Ali. Just because I actually remember first year and that night we spent in hospital with alcohol poisoning!" He shouted back, smirking at her attempted glare.

"I thought we agreed not to mention that!" She shouted, annoyed.

"Nope." Louis laughed loudly, even as the music changed to a slightly slower beat and he moved along with the hands on his hips. "You suggested that we never mention that again. I was on too many painkillers at the time to do anything." He laughed when she flipped him the bird. "Love you too." He laughed even louder, turning to the guy he had been dancing with (or against, looking at one's point of view) for a while and hooking his hands around the guys neck.

"Well, hello handsome." Louis smirked up at the guy. This was why he rarely drank - he was much too friendly. Oh well, he shrugged to himself as he allowed himself to be pulled closer to the stranger, this was the last time he'd go clubbing for a while (or, knowing how Harry's tours went, his last time clubbing without an overprotective alpha for a while).

"What's your name, cutie?" The guy he was dancing with, a beta, asked lowly.

"Isn't it polite to introduce yourself first?" Louis giggled.

"I'm sure it is." The beta winked. "I'm Julian."

"Louis." He introduced himself, pulling away from Julian so he could formally extend his hand in greeting. They only lasted 10 seconds of shaking hands before they both collapsed in giggles and Julian pulled Louis back into him again, both of them easily moving to the music.

"Do you want a drink?" Julian asked loudly as the song once again changed.

"Oohh." Louis contemplated. He had been planning on switching to non-alcoholic but he supposed one more wouldn't hurt. "Vodka and coke, please." He said sweetly. Julian grinned and turned to go to the bar. Louis smiled to himself. Seeing a long line at the bar, he decided he had enough time to go to the bathroom without Julian thinking he'd abandoned him.

"I'm going to the loo, love." He shouted to Ali as he skirted around her. She waved a hand in acknowledgement but didn't detach herself from her boyfriends face. He sighed at the young couple, feeling as if he was a lot older than he was. He missed his boys. He shook himself out of it as he entered the bathroom, though and found it mostly empty, if he ignored the strange noises from the end stall. He had only seen Zayn last week and he would be seeing Harry in a few weeks, if not before. He was also pretty sure Liam, at least, was already in the country. As he washed his hands, he looked in the mirror and could see himself drooping. Telling himself to stop being silly, and that he knew this would happen if he drank, he splashed his face with a bit of water before finger combing his fringe back into how he'd styled it only a couple of hours ago. Deciding that he was ready to continue his night, he went to go find Ali.

"I told you celebrities came here." Is what she greeted him with, although honestly Louis was shocked she'd detached herself from her boyfriend (he really should learn the poor guys name) for long enough to talk to him.

"Celebrities?" He asked absentmindedly. He supposed that explained the even larger than normal crowd of people around the bar and supposed that was exactly where the celebrities were.

"Yeah, I even recognised them." Ali lent in to whisper in his ear, as if they were sharing a secret. "They're the hot ones." Before she lent back, giggling. Louis laughed too, even though he was beyond confused. That told him absolutely nothing. What did tell him something, however, was the loud laugh and familiar curly hair he could suddenly see at the bar. He groaned.

"Oh, I know!" Ali perked up, putting her hand in the air like she was still in primary school. "I still don't think you know them, you know, Lou?" She said rapidly. He nodded his head, feeling put upon; she still didn't believe him either. But who was Harry with? "Well, lets prove it!" She grabbed his hand and all of a sudden he found himself pushing through throngs of people to reach the main attractions.

"Don't they have bodyguards?" He asked, feeling a bit desperate.

"Probably." She said cheerfully. When he looked at her boyfriend imploringly, he just shrugged his shoulders as if he was already used to this, even though Louis was pretty sure they'd been going out for two weeks at most. Louis had just slumped his shoulders in resignation of humiliating himself - again - in front of a large crowd of people, when his saviour stepped in front of them.

"Hey, Louis, I got your drink." Julian shouted, a large grin on his face. Louis ground to a stop, just about managing to halt Ali's path.

"Thanks, Julian." He had nearly wrapped his hand around the glass when Ali yanked him forwards.

"Lou says he knows the celebrities and I'm going to make him prove it. Come with." She demanded and didn't leave him a chance to reply as she was off again. Louis sighed - so much for a saviour.

"Do you really know them, Lou?" Julian asked.

"Well..." Louis trailed off as Ali finally got them close enough to the celebrities that he could actually see who was there. Harry was leaning against the bar, large smile on his face and tight black jeans encasing his legs. Opposite him was Liam, looking fresh from a day of promo and a drink already in hand. Louis, futilely, tried to stop Ali's bulldoze over to them and hoped that the bar was too packed for either of them too smell him. His dreams of stopping were crushed, however, when Ali somehow managed to push past a small group of girls - rather aggressively, at that, reminding Louis abruptly that she had been the Women's rugby captain their last year of uni - and tap Liam on the shoulder. Harry had chosen that very convenient moment to turn to talk to the bartender.

"Hello." Ali said pointedly. Louis was pretty sure she'd force Liam to turn around if she had to. Luckily, Liam wasn't subjected to that, as he turned around with a smile on his face.

"Hello, love." He greeted. Louis took the moment to thank god that he was so small, able to hide mostly behind Julian and Ali. "What can I do for you?"

"My friend here says he knows you and I want to prove him wrong."

It was clearly a challenge if Louis had ever heard one and he had never been one to turn away from a challenge, even if it did end in public humiliation.

"Hey, Li." He pushed past Julian, although Ali didn't budge when he tried to move her.

"Lou?" Liam asked, shocked.

"Lou?" Harry turned around at the sound of the omega's name, also looking rather shocked.

Ignoring for the moment that neither alpha knew that Louis did, occasionally, go clubbing, Louis tried to poke Ali out of the way.

"Oi, Ali, see. They know me." He huffed importantly.

"Oh, Louis, my dear, that means nothing. They've only proved that they know your name." She taunted. He pouted at her and she smirked at him.

"I hate you." He tells her.

"Love you too, Boo." She sings back at him.

"Um, excuse me." Harry interrupts. "But Lou, what are you doing here? I thought you weren't feeling well."

"I thought you didn't like clubbing." Liam interjects sternly. Louis doesn't see the arms reaching out for him until its too late and he's quickly pulled into Liam's personal space and given a thorough sniff. "You shouldn't be out if you're not feeling well. Actually, you shouldn't be out at all. Anything could happen." Liam lectured.

Raising an eyebrow, Louis turns his head so he could see Ali. This was undeniable proof that he knew Liam and Harry. However, Ali was too busy hysterically laughing to pay him any attention.

"Fine, Ali, if that's how you want to play it, I suppose I'll have to tell everyone about that time in second year - you know, the one with the Garret." He shouts to her. She abruptly stops laughing, turning to look at him menacingly. He tries to wiggle out of Liam's arms, although he's only successful in turning around to face her head on.

"I'll tell your mum about that one time with Lottie."

"I'll tell your brother about that time with his girlfriend."

"I'll remind everyone about that time you and Eleanor snogged."

"I'll put that video from the end of first year all over the internet."

They stare at each other for a minute, slightly to drunk to take this seriously but also knowing they had the same amount of blackmail on each other.

"I could also bring up the alcohol poisoning." He sings.

Although, he did like to think he had the advantage in this game.

"We agreed not to mention that." She hissed.

"You suggested." He reminded her.

"I took your puking to mean that you agreed." She shot back.

He grimaced then, because he had never told any of his alpha best friends about his wild first year, let alone the fact that he'd got alcohol poisoning. And obviously Liam knew what Ali was implying, because his grip suddenly shifted and Louis found himself once more facing Liam, although this time he looked a bit more angry than confused.

"Care to tell me what this is all about, Louis?" He growled in the omega's ear.

Louis pursed his lips for a moment.

"Nope." He shook his head, smiling.

"Have you been drinking, Lou?" Harry asked, leaning down over Liam's shoulder.

"Tinsy bit." Louis held up his hand to demonstrate, holding his thumb and forefinger about a centimetre apart.

"God, Lou. You know drinkings not good for you." Liam scolded.

"Trust me." He tells them, raising his eyebrows. "I know." Behind him, he can hear Ali cracking up again, although everything else is drowned out by the music still blasting from the speakers.

"Right." Liam says, almost angry. "Its clear you haven't been telling us the whole truth, despite what we agreed before you came here." Louis winced a bit. He hadn't lied about anything huge; except, maybe the alcohol poisoning. Oh, and that one time with the police. He winced again - this really wasn't going to be a fun conversation. "We'll take you home and in the morning you are telling us everything." Liam said sternly.

"You're lucky if we let you go anywhere without one of us again, Lou." Harry tacks on, reaching down to pick Louis up off of Liam's lap and, even though he was angry with the omega, tucking Louis against himself so the omega could scent him. He chuckled slightly at Louis' exasperated sigh.

"Oh, wait." Louis perked up suddenly and Harry almost had a heart attack when Louis twisted in his arms to look back at his friend and almost fell to the floor. "I told you I knew them!" He shouted.

"I'm still not sure I believe you!" Ali shouted back, smirking maniacally.


	6. Chapter 6 - "Who care's if nobody believes me?"

Louis loved Rome, he really did. The history, the culture, the food. What he could do without, however, is four overprotective alphas following his every move. It had been over a month since Louis had admitted to them that he had spent most of his first year partying, as well as a fair bit of his second year and although he most definitely had not told them all the details, none of the alphas had been happy, although Louis couldn't figure out of they were angry because he had gone out clubbing so often when they'd told him he shouldn't or if they were upset because he'd lied to them.

As a strong, independent omega, he mostly hoped it was the latter. He loved them, he really did, and he'd take their suggestions into account but he wasn't going to stop partying just because they told him too.

"You alright there, Lou?" Zayn asked.

Louis looked up, wide-eyed, feeling a little bit like he'd been trapped. It was an irrational feeling, he knew, and so forced himself to relax under Zayn's half-lidded gaze.

"Yeah. Just a bit bored, I suppose." He admitted. They were back stage, waiting whilst Harry went through a last minute soundcheck and was then hustled through hair and makeup before he went on-stage. Liam was on his way to the stadium, stuck in Rome traffic after a radio interview promoting his new movie. Louis thought it most likely Niall was in catering, eating his way through all the food; or, quite possibly, in the kitchen, correcting the cooks.

"Hmm."

Louis jolted out of his thoughts at Zayn's thoughtful hum.

"Is there anything you want to do?" Zayn asked.

"Can we go exploring?" Louis sat up straight, a pleading look on his face. He had never been in this stadium before and, as Harry found out the hard way in LA last year (that they were never mentioning to the other alpha's in fear of embarrassment on both sides) Louis loved to explore the different venues.

"Oh, come on, Zee. Lets explore." Mind made up and knowing that Zayn wouldn't protest, Louis jumped out of his seat and easily made his way out of the door and down a number of different corridors. It wasn't until he looked behind him, realising that he wasn't at all sure where he was, that he realised he had left Zayn behind.

"Oops." He giggled to himself. "His fault for not being fast enough."

And so Louis spent the next hour and a half wandering down corridors, pretending that he knew where he was going whenever he came across someone.

"Louis!"

He spun around at the shout of his name and grinned when he saw Niall striding towards him.

"Ni!" He called back and happily accepted the blonds embrace.

"Where have you been, bunny?" The alpha asked, holding the omega to him tightly.

"What'd you mean?" Louis pulled back to ask innocently. "I've been here."

"Bunny.." Niall trailed off. "Zayn said you ran off. We've all been worried."

"Ni" Louis couldn't help but laugh at the alpha's words. "What could have happened to me? This place is ridiculously well-protected. And trust me, I know; I think I've gone around the entire stadium."

"The entire stadium?"

Louis jolted at the new voice joining the conversation and turned sheepishly in Niall's arms to see Zayn coming towards them.

"Hehe, maybe." He said. "Its been fun. Did you know there's a hole in the wall on the west side of the stadium and a fan snuck in earlier and they can't get permission to board it up so they have to have security guards just standing next to this hole until Harry's finished?" He asked.

"No, I did not know that and its not something you absolutely needed to know either." Zayn scolded lightly.

"Ah, lighten up Zaynie." Niall chortled from behind him. "He's alright, ain't ya bunny?"

"Yes, I'm fine. It was only exploring." He insisted. "And I thought you were right behind me, Zee."

Zayn sighed heavily.

"You disappeared around a corner before I could catch up and then I couldn't find you." Zayn shook his head. "Anyway, come on, lets go find Liam and Haz before they go mad."

"You told them I'd disappeared?" Louis whined as he was herded towards, presumably, his last two alphas.

"Of course I did, Lou. I was worried." Zayn said as if it was obvious. Louis pouted, but he'd known he couldn't have disappeared for that long without all four of the alpha's finding out some way or another.

It didn't take them long to find Haz, who was obviously still looking for Louis even as his poor hair stylist tried to get him to stay still.

"Hazza!" Louis shouts when he first sees the alpha.

"Boo!" Harry grins widely and opens his arms. Grinning, Louis runs to the alpha and jumps on him, wrapping his legs around Haz's waist and his arms around the alpha's shoulders.

"I missed you, Haz." Louis coos.

"Oh, darling. I missed you too." Harry croons back.

Zayn and Niall shuffle past them with resigned sighs.

"Come on, lovebirds, you saw each other literally three hours ago. We should find Liam." Zayn tells them, but doesn't give them a chance to respond as he continues down the corridor, Niall shaking his head at Harry and Louis in mock disappointment.

"Its only been three hours?" Haz asks. "But it feels like so much longer when I'm away from you." He says smoothly.

"Oh, Haz." Louis can't help but laugh and reaches up to push an errant curl out of Harry's face. "I love you." Harry's grin grows even wider, if that's possible.

"I love you too, Lou." Harry lets Louis slide out of his arms and they bounce off after Zayn and Niall, coming across them just after they find Liam. They're all stood in the middle of the corridor and Harry and Louis share a mischievous look.

As quietly as they can, they back away so they're just round the corner from the three alphas. Louis holds up a hand with three fingers and harry nods. Slowly, Louis lowers his fingers until there's only one left and, as soon as that's disappeared, they turn and, with massive grins on their faces, dash to the three alphas.

Louis jumps straight at Niall, physically the weakest of the three and manages to push the blond over and dragging Zayn down in the process. Harry barrels into Liam and directs their fall to the complaining, groaning pile just forming on the ground. Louis lets out a bark of laughter from his place on top of a complaining Zayn and a giggling Niall. Harry grins over at him, Liam face down on the floor with a resigned air about him and Louis reaches over for a high five.

With Harry grinning at him and Niall still giggling; Zayn's complaining finally subsiding and Liam lying, long suffering, on the floor, Louis feels happier than he has in a long time. Even if nobody believes him when he says he knows these guys, he doesn't care, because the only important people in their relationship are the five of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks so much for the lovely comments and all the kudos. I'm really glad so many of you enjoyed reading this :)


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